Seeking Her Out
by Nesserz
Summary: Harry finds Ginny skating on the Hogwarts lake.


_**Seeking Her Out**_

Summary: Harry finds Ginny skating on the lake.

A/N: Just a short little one-shot that I wrote in the space of an hour or so, not to brag or anything of course. lol. Many thanks to my awesome Beta reader Becca who, I might add, has impeccable timing. Also an 'I miss you!' to my other Beta who has managed to score herself a holiday overseas! (Didn't want you to think that I didn't think you worthy of betaing for me anymore.)

I hope "Seeking her out" is enjoyed by all. Happy reading and be sure to let me know what you think. )

Nesserz. )

•••

Harry cursed under his breath as his hair was whipped wildly about on his head in the cold weather. He'd left the castle in such a hurry that he hadn't thought to protect himself against the elements. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets, in the hopes of gathering a small amount of warmth.

He trudged along the snow covered ground, reveling in the crunching sound he made with his feet. He'd had to get out of the castle due to the fact that Ron and Hermione were actually getting along. It had thrown him a little - he was more used to them fighting, not them being civil to one another. He wasn't sure what was worse. In any case, he'd needed to escape.

Harry wasn't paying much attention to the direction that his feet were taking him in, but was pleased to see that when he looked up from the snow, he saw a shock of Weasley hair nearby.

"Hiya Harry!" Ginny called, waving and sending him her trademark grin. Feeling as though the grin was somewhat infectious, Harry grinned back.

Upon closer inspection, Harry discovered that Ginny was gliding. His grin faltered when he saw she was skating on the surface of the lake.

"Is that safe?" he asked her as she turned in circles, cutting through the ice with a pair of white ice skates strapped to her feet.

"Absolutely," She said as she spun around so fast she made Harry feel giddy simply from watching her. "Anyway, what brings you out here?" she asked as she glided over to him and skidded to a stop, spraying his trainers with a thin layer of ice.

"Thanks," he muttered as he shook the wetness off his feet. "I—."

"Wait, wait, let me guess. Ron and Hermione are fighting," she stated knowingly.

"No, actually they're not."

"They must be snogging then, I know you hate that." she said, digging the toe of her skate into the ice.

"Are you implying that I only ever seek you out when they are fighting, or, as you so bluntly put it, snogging?" Harry asked, with mock indignation.

"Well…you do, don't you?" she asked, looking uncharacteristically shy.

"What? No of course not. I seek you out because I—"

"Come on Harry, come skate with me," she said as she pushed away from him. Harry frowned. How odd for her to assume he only bothered with her when Ron and Hermione were getting on his nerves. It had been that way in the beginning, he admitted, but not any more, he found Ginny when he wanted—

"Ha-rr-y," she wheedled, breaking into his thoughts. He shook himself and followed her progress across the lake, entranced slightly by her long red hair, as it whipped around her face.

"Wh-at?" he said in the same sing-song voice, dragging out the word much like she had just done.

"Skate with me," she said, coming back over to stand in front of him, him on the safe bank of the lake, she on the hard white surface of it.

"I…I can't."

"Why in Merlin's name not?" she asked, giving him an odd look and folding her arms across her chest, as though he had just accused her of fancying the Giant Squid.

"I can't, because I don't know how," he said, staring at a cluster of rocks that were on the other side of the lake, minding their own business.

"What do you mean you 'don't know how'? Everyone can skate!" she said, 'tsk'ing at him as though he were crazy.

"I was never taught – I never learnt on account of the fact that Dudley broke the ice – literally – before I could learn." Harry said, smiling at the memory of when he'd been five and Dudley had thrown a temper tantrum right in the middle of the lake near the Dursley's house because his mother had bought him the wrong kind of skates. Consequently, he'd broken a great big gaping hole right in front of half of the residents of Little Whinging.

He was brought back from his memory by Ginny taking both of his hands in hers and pulling him toward her. "But, I don't have any skates," he tried vainly, without much hope as he highly doubted that a lack of equipment would deter Ginny Weasley of something she wanted to do. He was right.

She pulled him, trainers and all, onto the ice, on which Harry immediately had trouble standing. "Ginny, I don't think—"

"Exactly, don't think, or this becomes hard." She said as she skated backwards away from him and stopped. 'Come to me Hawwy, widdle baby steps now," she cooed in a voice that he suspected she's use on an infant.

"I'm not an idiot," he said as he promptly took a shaky step toward her and fell over. "Not one word Weasley," he said as he tried to right himself. He could hear Ginny trying to stifle her laughter. "At least you have the decency not to laugh outright at me," he said as he stood up again and found Ginny in front of him again, biting her lip, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"You're not a very good teacher you know," he said, as he turned his back on her, rather than skating away because, well, he simply couldn't. He'd barely crossed his arms when she was in front of him again.

"I'm sorry, come here," she said, as she put her hands out, palms up. She motioned for him to put his hands on hers; he did so and looked at her skeptically. "You can trust me, I'm not Fred and George you know," she said, sniffing indignantly.

Harry laughed. "Maybe not, but that doesn't make you any less cunning."

She poked her tongue out at him and caught a drifting snowflake on it. Sucking her tongue back in, she grinned. "All right, so just concentrate on one foot at a time, one after the other, it's like walking really," she said shrugging one of her shoulders as though that explained everything.

They skated around for a bit, Harry tottering along like a toddler taking his or her first steps. After the second time he'd fallen over, he sighed irritably.

"This is ridiculous – why would anyone want to glide over ice?"

"You're just sore because you're rubbish at it," Ginny said as she glided around him effortlessly and pointedly.

"Showoff," he muttered under his breath and she laughed.

"Well, why not? Where's the fun in having a talent and keeping it to yourself?" she asked as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Point taken," he said as he watched her show off her talent that up until an hour ago, he hadn't known she'd had. "Who taught you to skate?" he called out to her as she finished spinning in circles, apparently her favourite trick to do.

"Bill," she said smiling obviously at a memory of when she was younger. "Of course, that was when the twins were nowhere to be found. They were rather fond of knocking me off my feet." She frowned.

Harry smiled; he didn't feel so bad now, knowing that she hadn't always been the perfect skater.

•••

Harry's teeth were chattering and he was once again cursing his rash decision to exit the common room without any protective gear. He looked at Ginny, who he noticed had remembered to wear her Gryffindor scarf, gloves and woolen hat.

"Cold?" she asked, having obviously noticed his shivering.

"Just a little," he said smiling at her sarcastically. She laughed and unwrapped a few yards of her overly long scarf and offered them to him. After a short hesitation, he took the offered warmth and wrapped it around his neck. "This is comfortable," he said jokingly, as he looked at Ginny who was now a lot closer to him than she had been the whole time he'd been outside due to the sharing of her scarf.

They stood in silence, suddenly awkward being so close to one another. Harry laughed nervously at their breath mingling together in the air, coming out in small puffs of smoke. Ginny smiled, her eyes searching his own. Without really meaning too, they leaned toward one another.

Harry's fingertips brushed Ginny's cheek before it happened. He lost his footing and brought the two of them crashing down onto the hard ice. They lay side by side for a moment, letting the awkwardness fade away before Harry spoke.

"I've never been one to do things by halves," he said, laughing and rubbing his elbow as he sat up.

"Third time's a charm," Ginny said as she sat up too, flicking her wet hair over her shoulders and laughing at their predicament. Her scarf was still wrapped loosely around their necks. It was the scarf that had been the downfall. "And here I was thinking you were tricking me, saying you couldn't skate, you were doing really well there for a while."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said, looking her over to make sure she wasn't injured. "No, it was all luck there for a few minutes I'm afraid. Unfortunately, luck doesn't always last," he said laughing, wondering if he'd have to go pay a visit to madam Pomfrey. His elbow was smarting something awful.

"Oh, I don't know," Ginny said coming close to him, grinning. "I think your luck could be just beginning…" she said, leaning towards him as though to kiss him but climbed to her feet instead, laughing and skated off.

Mentally shaking himself to recall what she'd just said, he got to his feet and followed her. She stood at the edge of the lake, a somewhat sly look on her face; her hands clasped together behind her back, her scarf now back around her own neck. He managed to get to her, albeit slowly but she stood patiently, surveying him as he neared her.

He skidded to a stop, closing his eyes, expecting to fall over but just as he stumbled, she caught him and he looked up to see her smiling at him.

"So," he countered, feeling rather brave all of a sudden, "about my luck just beginning…" he said suggestively and she laughed.

"There's no need to push it," she said, as she gave him a superior look.

"For the record," Harry said, suddenly remembering their earlier conversation, "Ron and Hermione, they weren't fighting _or _snogging."

Ginny's head snapped up. "Really? I felt sure that they would have been,"

"Ginny, you don't honestly think that's the reason I seek you out is it?" he asked her, smiling slightly.

"Of course not," she said, beaming. "But, it would make sense," she said quietly.

"Gin, I seek you out because I want too, not because of anyone else. You are the only one that makes me want to spend time with you. You draw me to you," he said, laughing nervously, realising that he was sounding suspiciously as though he'd been doused in a love potion.

Ginny however, didn't seem to mind. She took his face in both of her gloved hands and kissed him soundly on the lips.

"I guess," Harry said, looking down at her, "Luck does last after all."

•••

_Fin. _

A/N: If only we all had a story like that to tell in real life. We could all use a few little Harry/Ginny moments in our lives couldn't we? )

Nesserz.


End file.
